Ex-assistant coach at River View pleads guilty to child porn

Aug. 27, 2013

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Michael D. Bahmer, 40, of Coshocton, plead guilty to six counts of pandering sexually oriented material involving a minor, one a second degree felony and the others fourth degree felonies. He also plead guilty to one count of sexual battery, a third degree felony Tuesday in Coshocton County Common Pleas Court. / Julie Ames/Tribune

Michael D. Bahmer, 40, of Coshocton, with attorney Donald Malarsick of Akron, plead guilty to six counts of pandering sexually oriented material involving a minor, one a second degree felony and the others fourth degree felonies. He also plead guilty to one count of sexual battery, a third degree felony Tuesday in Coshocton County Common Pleas Court. / Julie Ames/Tribune

Michael D. Bahmer, 40, of Coshocton, with attorney Donald Malarsick of Akron, plead guilty to six counts of pandering sexually oriented material involving a minor, one a second degree felony and the others fourth degree felonies. He also plead guilty to one count of sexual battery, a third degree felony Tuesday in Coshocton County Common Pleas Court. / Julie Ames/Tribune

Michael D. Bahmer, 40, of Coshocton, plead guilty to six counts of pandering sexually oriented material involving a minor, one a second degree felony and the others fourth degree felonies. He also plead guilty to one count of sexual battery, a third degree felony Tuesday in Coshocton County Common Pleas Court. / Julie Ames/Tribune

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COSHOCTON — A former River View assistant volleyball coach and local pharmacist has pleaded guilty to child pornography and sexual battery charges.

Michael D. Bahmer, 40, of Ohio 621, pleaded guilty Tuesday in Coshocton County Common Pleas Court to six counts of pandering sexually oriented material involving a minor ó one a second-degree felony and the others fourth-degree felonies. He also pleaded guilty to one count of sexual battery, a third-degree felony.

The sexual battery charge stems from sexual conduct Bahmer had with a player on the River View volleyball team between May 1 and 25, 2012.

Coshocton County Prosecutor Jason Given said he would not comment on details of the relationship because a presentencing investigation and sentencing have yet to take place. Given said the teen in question was a juvenile at the time but is not now.

Bahmer served as an assistant to varsity coach Cari Bahmer, his wife. Superintendent Dalton Summers said Cari Bahmer resigned as varsity volleyball coach May 7. He said spending more time with her family was the only reason she gave in her resignation letter for stepping down.

Summers said he would be contacting the prosecutorís office and discussing matters with Given. Because a former student was involved in an incident, he said, the district would entertain launching its own investigation. He said that likely would not be until after sentencing, as more information is made available.

Given said he expected Judge Robert Batchelor to rule on sentencing in four to six weeks. Givenís office would not be making a recommendation on sentencing, he added.

The second-degree pandering charge could carry up to eight years in prison and a maximum fine of $15,000. The fourth-degree pandering charges are punishable by up to 18 months in prison and a maximum $5,000 fine each. The third-degree sexual battery charge can have up to 60 months of jail time and a maximum fine of $10,000.

Bahmer also would be classified as a tier III sex offender.

Bahmerís attorney, Donald Malarsick, of Akron, said his client was undergoing counseling to understand what he did and how he can prevent it from ever happening again.

According to court documents, during a routine computer crime investigation by the Franklin County Sheriffís Office Internet Crime Against Children division, a specific IP address involved in the downloading and sharing of child pornography was traced to Bahmerís residence.

Between March 5 and 12, an ICAC investigator downloaded several videos of child pornography from a file sharing site that came from the IP address, court documents state. Given said the second-degree pandering charge is the sharing of videos while the fourth-degree pandering charges are for other videos found on Bahmerís computer by investigators.

Given said all of the juveniles in the videos have been identified by investigators and that none was local. Given said Bahmerís case has not led to any others. Bahmer was in possession and shared videos but was not selling or making any, Given said.